Communicating a Shared Vision

In Module 2 of my MASCL program we are studying organizational culture and John Kotter is my new transformational hero. Here is a post I wrote earlier today that could be helpful if you are attempting a major transition:

In order to effectively communicate a shared vision, Kotter explains that communication must be "face-to-face whenever possible" (Deetz et all, 2000, p. 45). There are two important actions leaders need to take in order to ensure that the vision meets Kotter's vision criteria of imaginable, desirable, feasible, focused, flexible and communicable – engage in dialogue and demonstrate through actions.

Engage in Dialogue
“Presentation is not communication” (p. 45). Leaders must engage the constituents in dialogue rather than continuously bombard them with monologue and taglines. “Communication takes two – one to have meaning and send a message and another to hear it and decide what it means” (p. 45). Constituents are more willing to commit to the shared vision if they took part in creating it. Hence, the word shared. Ultimately, everyone wants to know, “What’s in it for me?” (p.45).

Demonstrate through Actions
Leaders need to do more than “preach the values,” they need to “get directly involved in the change effort” (Deetz et al, p.45). Nothing can derail a major transformation faster than hypocrisy. When leaders’ actions do not align with the shared vision, they destabilize the possibility of a successful transformation. The shared vision serves as the framework for the transformation and once established, it should be communicated with leaders and the internal constituency in order to help them articulate what Edgar Schein (2010) calls “espoused values” (p. 43).

NOTE: At Parish, we created a message framing document as a reference to help our brand evangelists articulate our shared vision. We also converted the doc to an iBook for easy access on smart phones. We encourage our constituents to let us know if what we are espousing is not congruent with what they are experiencing. Transparency is key when managing change.


References:

Deetz, S. A., Tracy, S. J., & Simpson, J. L. (2000). Leading organizations through transition: Communication and culture change. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc

Schein, E. H.(2010). Organizational culture and leadership, 4th edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.